The objective of this blog to share development in rural areas across the world. It is a space where scientists, professionals and anyone interested can share cases studies, methodologies and developments both from the South and the North.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

It is with great intersted i read the "seeds of gold" the agricultural supplement of the Kenyan daily nation yesterday. It is about HessConsultant, a real estate company i came accross when i was looking into buying a flat in Nairobi. To my big astonishment, they where not building houses, but building gated farms, like gated communities in Nairobi (set of townhouses that share security).
A gated farms shares security, water access and professional advice. A very interesting new concept for commercial farming in Kenya, providing 25 four acre plots, these are sizes where lots can be done and is commercially viable.

Gated farms

The owners of the plots have all their different business plans from horticulture to livestock and are very confident. What is missing in this discussions is the synergies that theses 25 farms could have by working together, for example the poultry farm providing input to the dairy farm with the poultry excrement, or the crop residues to livestock.
Where as the concept as presented is a classical commercial agriculture model relying on outside inputs, it might be worth to look at how these different farms could complement each other to produce commercially in a closed and sustainable system. An opportunity that these farmers should not miss, and an initiative that i will hopefully visit one day, when it will be fully set up! Find here the full article.